The world plunged into a Great Freeze, but I had drawn three passes to a secure bunker.
Orphaned and alone, I decided to give the passes to my girlfriend and my best friend.
Yet, my girlfriend, Ronnie, wasn’t just ungrateful.
While I slept, she stole my passes and sold them to a rich man.
She teamed up with my friend, Liam, to abduct me, and the two of them started a relationship right in front of me.
“You’re an orphan, but you’ve always had it easy, plus you’re an athlete – you might even survive out there!”
“Liam is always sick, always getting picked on, and he couldn’t even get a single pass! It’s not fair! Just this once, let him have it!”
I screamed and cried, begging Ronnie to at least untie me.
But they pretended not to see, leaving me to suffer hypothermia, freezing to death in the desolate suburbs.
Later, she leveraged Sterling’s gratitude – the rich man she’d ensnared.
Not only did she survive the Great Freeze, but she became an influential figure in the new world, living a life of absolute luxury.
Reborn into this life, I returned to the day I drew the passes.
Seeing my girlfriend and friend’s eager eyes, tears instantly welled in mine.
“I only drew one pass. What are we going to do?”
Heavy snow blocked the roads, and everyone shivered from the cold.
Ronnie and Liam’s faces instantly turned pale when they saw the pass in my hand.
“O-one? Honey, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“How is one enough for us? We need at least two…”
Ronnie started to speak, then hesitated, her eyes quickly darting to mine.
Seeing my somber expression, a sigh of relief escaped her.
Liam, on the other hand, burst into tears, leaning his head straight onto Ronnie’s shoulder.
“What are we going to do? There’s only one, are we going to die?”
He didn’t even try to hide it anymore, openly embracing Ronnie right in front of me.
I lifted my gaze to my girlfriend’s flustered face, feigning ignorance.
“Liam, you can’t be acting like this, no matter how upset you are. Ronnie is my girlfriend!”
A flicker of impatience crossed Liam’s eyes. He was about to speak, but Ronnie quickly pushed him away.
As long as I held a pass, she wouldn’t dare argue with me; she’d have to walk on eggshells and treat me like gold.
Sure enough, Ronnie sighed, a helpless expression on her face.
“You know Liam is timid and sensitive. He’s probably just scared.”
“You’re always so disorganized. Just let me hold onto the pass for now, and we’ll figure things out properly when we get back.”
I raised an eyebrow, tightening my grip on the pass.
“Don’t worry, I’ve always listened to you, and I give you whatever you want.”
“We’ve been together for so long, you’re the person I care about most. I’m definitely willing to give you the pass!”
Ronnie beamed, nodding eagerly, gesturing for me to hand it over.
But I turned my head to Liam, pretending not to see her.
“We’re like brothers, and you’ve suffered so much since you were a kid. If it comes to dying, I’ll go with you.”
“At least we’ll have each other for company, even in heaven.”
Liam’s face instantly darkened.
He shoved me away.
“What are you talking about, dying?! I’m not dying!”
“Ronnie, would you really use this pass yourself and just watch me die?!”
“Didn’t you say…”
He started to speak, then hesitated, his hand instinctively going to his stomach, his eyes wide with desperate expectation as he looked at Ronnie.
Ronnie trembled with fear.
She quickly forced a smile and said they’d talk about it when they got back.
I feigned annoyance.
“The bunker closes in three days. Stop wasting time, decide now!”
The cramped apartment was cluttered with junk.
Ronnie, uncharacteristically, suggested she and Liam go take out the trash.
In my previous life, I might not have seen through her intentions.
She was clearly using the excuse of taking out the trash to quickly appease Liam.
I sneered.
Now with only one pass left, I was waiting for them to become enemies!
I pulled out my phone and quickly added Sterling’s contact information.
In my past life, I was too kind, always letting my guard down around them.
Ronnie had just been laid off, and Liam hadn’t found a job after graduation.
I was barely supporting all three of us on my meager salary.
They weren’t grateful at all; they were so audacious that when the emergency supply advisory was issued, they immediately used all our savings to hoard supplies.
When I lugged back over a dozen bags of supplies, breathless and exhausted, they wouldn’t even help.
They just kept blaming me for wasting money.
“We have three mouths to feed; how can you spend money so irrationally! You wasted all our money; how are we supposed to get through this month?!”
“I haven’t even bought my suit yet! If this delays my interview, you’ll regret it!”
Liam grumbled, not bothering to consider that he was spending *my* money.
Ronnie rolled her eyes.
“That’s what happens when you’ve always had it easy, never thinking about the consequences.”
“I told him I wanted to buy a gaming keyboard this month; it was only a few thousand, and he wouldn’t buy it! Instead, he wasted money on this useless junk!”
I was deeply hurt.
For the first time, I lost my temper and argued with them.
To salvage her ego, Ronnie pulled out Sterling’s contact info and flaunted it right in front of me.
“If it weren’t for you, why would I compromise myself like this?”
“Now that I’ve finally buttered him up, maybe Sterling will give me a leg up, and I’ll strike it rich soon!”
“If even you look down on me and think I can’t do it, then I’ll jump off a building right now!”
Ronnie looked so wronged that my heart broke.
I apologized profusely, once again letting her manipulate me.
But because of that, I remembered Sterling’s contact information.
Seeing the “friend request accepted” notification, I felt a slight relief.
When they returned, Liam had completely changed his slouchy demeanor. He took my hand and looked at Ronnie.
“There’s only one pass left. I thought about it, and I think we should give it to Ronnie.”
“You’re right, we’ll have each other for company, and we won’t be too lonely in the end.”
I was a little surprised, not expecting Liam to be so generous.
But I just smiled, not handing over the pass.
“I need to think about it more. After all, I’m the one who drew it, so I have to be responsible for this ticket, and for both of you.”
Ronnie immediately grew anxious.
Just as I saw her about to snatch it, I looked at Liam.
“I’m used to being so careless. Liam is more detail-oriented, so maybe he should keep it safe.”
Now, both of them were stunned.
Liam glanced at Ronnie, then cautiously took the pass.
As night fell, the temperature plummeted.
Ronnie had already bundled herself up.
I stopped Liam, who was about to go find something to stay warm.
“Liam, you deserve this pass more than Ronnie.”
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 294279 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
